Ordeals and Reveals
by LastFebruary
Summary: Master Wu allows Ladybug and Chat Noir to reveal their secret identities to each other, but a series of bad dates and miscommunication only force them to grow apart. However, while the superheroes drift, Adrien and Marinette seem to be benefiting from the constant confusion. And they aren't sure they want their seemingly random meetings to end.
1. Chapter 1

Master Wu had told Ladybug and Chat Noir that they were allowed to know each other's secret identities approximately two days, three hours, and forty-seven minutes ago. Trust me, Chat had been counting.

"Please," he begged. They were perched on the rooftop of a tall building, looking out towards the skyline of Paris. It was almost dusk, the sun was just beginning to drift downwards and out of sight. Their nightly patrol was almost finished and not an akuma had been in sight.

"I told you, I'm not ready yet!" Ladybug persisted.

"At this rate you'll never be ready!" Chat argued. "Do you really think I'll be _this_ disappointed?" His voice softened and he moved closer to her. Ladybug looked away and sighed.

"Maybe…"

"Impossible." He said quickly. "Absolutely impossible. I'm sure your secret identity is even more _purr_ fect than you are." He grinned and leaned on her shoulder, trying his best to rid all her worries.

"Oh shut up," she smiled. "Besides, what if you hate my civilian identity?"

"Nope, impossible," he said again, "I don't hate anyone and the only person I relatively dislike is Chloé and we've already established that _you_ are not _her_."

"Yeah I know but-"

"No buts," he raised his finger into the air. "Master Wu said that it would be good for us if we learned who we really were. We would get stronger as a team... as partners."

"I know," Ladybug admitted, "I just don't want you to be disappointed with who I really am."

"And I won't be," he reassured her, "I promise." He placed his gloved hand on her shoulder. She let out another sigh and looked at him, moderately annoyed. Chat was not perturbed, for this was a look he received at least once a day, if not more.

"Fine." Ladybug shook her head with a light smile. "But we have to do it on my terms, okay?"

"That's alright with me!" Chat said excitedly.

"We're going to meet at the Repas Délicieux-"

"Love that place."

"You've been?"

"Of course," Chat grinned at her. "One of my favorites." She sighed again. Her partner was much more excited than she was. Not that she wasn't excited of course! She was just painfully anxious.

"Then we're going to get dinner there, obviously-"

"I'll pay of course."

"Chat this isn't a date."

"Who said it wasn't?"

"Me!"

"Doesn't matter I'm still going to buy."

"Okay, well make sure you're wearing something nice." She stood up and took out her yo-yo. "You better be there tomorrow at 7:00 sharp." She told him, "Right on the dot."

"Right on the _spot_." He poked one of the black spots on her leg and grinned sheepishly to himself.

" _Chat_ …"

"I won't be late, I promise." Chat stood alongside her. "You can count on me, m'lady."

"So I'll see you tomorrow, promptly at seven o'clock, _right_?" Ladybug began swinging the yo-yo with one of her hands.

"Of course." He said reassuringly.

"Goodnight Chat," She swung her yo-yo across the street and trailed behind it. Chat watched her disappear into the skyline.

"Goodnight," he shut his eyes and breathed in. He was going to meet her. He was going to meet the love of his life.

…

Marinette lay in her bed, wide awake. It was what, three in the morning now? Tikki lay next to her, fast asleep-actually, let me correct myself. Tikki was barely asleep. Every so often Marinette would poke her awake and babble for several minutes about meeting Chat. Why this was a big deal, Tikki would never know, but she attempted to listen intently until the sweet calling of slumber lured her back to sleep.

"What if I hate him in real life?" Marinette asked half-asleep Tikki, "What if I'm disappointed by _him_? I don't want to be disappointed, but what if I am? We're friends, best friends! And what if I actually hate him? What am I gonna do? I can't hate him. We're partners, we're a team. We need to work together, but-"

"Marinette!" Tikki finally could not take it anymore. "Master Wu wouldn't have chosen you two, _together_ , if you hated each other. The Ladybug and Black Cat miraculous have a sacred bond-"

"I know, but-"

"Marinette, everything will be fine." Tikki said, "I promise."

"And I believe you," she admitted, "But I'm just scared."

"I know you are," Tikki said softly. "But Chat wants to meet you so badly and _he'd_ be disappointed if you bailed." Marinette sighed. She knew that was true and she knew she didn't want to hurt her friend like that. But fear was embedded deep within her. Marinette didn't want anything to go wrong.

"I know." She admitted. "I know."

Even with Tikki's wise words, Marinette couldn't fall asleep. She lay there for hours contemplating what she should wear, what she should say. Her biggest fear was that he'd be upset with who she really was. Just a normal girl. That's all she was, honestly. At night she was Ladybug… but during the day… well, she was just Marinette.

"It'll all be okay." She whispered to herself. "It'll all be okay."

…

The next morning began with a more rough start than usual. Marinette was always a little late, of course, but today she was extra late and really not looking forward to the rest of the day (for very obvious reasons). When she stumbled into class twenty-five minutes after the bell, Ms. Bustier required an adequate excuse from her, but all Marinette could cough up was that she couldn't sleep and had trouble getting up.

"You couldn't have thought of anything better?" Alya asked after she sat down with a detention slip crumpling beneath her fingers. Chloé and Sabrina were giggling in the front of the room and the rest of the class was just happy they had a short minute and a half break from Ms. Bustier's lecturing.

"I was being honest," Marinette said through gritted teeth. This was only her second detention, but she had promised her parents that she was going to help at the bakery that afternoon. They had a big cookie order to fill. "What am I going to tell my parents? I have to work today."

"I'll go over and do it for you," Alya offered.

"I'm not going to ask you to do that," Marinette said quickly, "My dad is very... _intense_ when he's stressed."

"I know the feeling," Adrien whispered to them, "I can help if you need anything, Marinette." Her face burned a bright red. Alya elbowed her, _hard_.

"No, Adrien it's fine, I'm just going to tell-"

"Don't worry Marinette, I have a photoshoot this afternoon that I've wanted to skip since it got scheduled. I'll owe _you_ a favor."

"I- uh- but-"

 _Just let him._ Alya mouthed to her.

"Thanks Adrien," Marinette breathed a sigh of relief, "I'll text my dad right now."

The rest of the school day was fairly uneventful. A few minutes before the final bell, Marinette briefed Alya and Adrien for her father's paranoia when it came to large cookie orders.

"If he's running around, just avoid him, he won't bother you if you just avoid him. Also, laugh at all his jokes, even though they're not funny, it makes him less stressed out, and-"

"Marinette, we've got this!" Alya said softly, "It's gonna be fine."

"Don't worry," Adrien put his hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you so much you guys," Marinette exhaled, "The order is set for 4 and that's when I'll get home. You guys should be done by then, so don't wait for me." The bell rang and everyone began to stand up and gather their books. "Thank you, so much." Marinette gave Alya a quick hug.

"See you later Marinette!" Alya waved good-bye.

"See you!"

"Bye, Mari," Adrien smiled at her before exiting the room, "Remember, I owe you." She laughed nervously to herself and gave him a nod.

"No you don't!" But he was already out the door. Even though she was set to endure an hour of detention and then discover the secret identity of her partner and her best friend, she felt… at peace, for just a little while.

…

When Marinette was let out of detention at precisely four o'clock she was overcome with panic. She was going to meet Chat's civilian form in just three hours. That was hardly any time at all to _mentally_ prepare herself and _physically_ prepare herself.

Marinette rushed home. Her father immediately praised Alya and Adrien for their help in the bakery. The order was completed with more than ten minutes to spare, all thanks to her friends, but Marinette didn't even have the mental focus to talk about it. She ran straight up to her room to choose between a few dresses and shoes to match. Ultimately, she decided that she had to look as beautiful as possible. She had to impress whoever Chat was behind his mask and ears.

After careful deliberation, she chose a navy blue skater dress with tan sandals and a gray handbag with blue polka dots to match. Maybe Chat would understand the spots reference. Or maybe he wouldn't. Marinette didn't know and she was too nervous to think about it.

"Marinette, don't get too nervous." Tikki instructed, "Chat is excited to get to know you and you should be excited to get to know him."

"I am." Marinette said quickly as she put on a little mascara.

"I think you're still freaking out-"

"Of course I am!" She paused and looked at her kwami in desperation, "I just want everything to go well. I want us to click. And there's a large chance that we won't!"

"Marinette, you click just fine-"

"As Ladybug and Chat Noir." She said, "Maybe not as Marinette and whoever he actually is." Tikki sighed. It was going to be a long night.

…

Adrien, on the other hand, was far too excited to meet Ladybug. After he had left Marinette's with a couple cookies in his bag, he ran home and into his room, ignoring his father's angry yells about the photoshoot he decided to skip. Like Marinette, Adrien spent a very long time debating what he wear.

"Why is that so important?" Plagg whined. He just wanted some camembert but instead he had to be Adrien's source of fashion advice.

"I want to make a good first impression."

"What if you've already met her?"

"Then I want to make a good _second_ impression."

"Well, if you want to make any impression at all, you better get there _on time_." Plagg said quietly.

"Wait, what?" Adrien stood up straight and turned to look at his clock. 6:57. "Oh no." He looked down at what he was wearing, he hadn't changed at all since the bakery. His clothes were covered with flour.

"Adrien, you don't have time, let's just g-" Adrien grabbed his kwami and threw him into his shirt pocket.

"Sorry Plagg." He said as he ran out of the house.

"Geez, watch it! You could've crushed me!"

"Relax, I'll get you some camembert when we get to Repas Délicieux," he mumbled, "Hopefully I'll get there in time."

From Adrien's mansion, the Repas Délicieux was a twenty minute walk. He had less than three minutes to get there at the time Ladybug specified. Of course, he was running, but to shave off seventeen minutes would be a pretty impressive feat for even the fastest of runners. By the time he reached the correct block, it was already 7:10 and if he knew anything about Ladybug, he knew she had gotten there early.

"Are you there yet?" Plagg held onto Adrien's shirt tightly. His ears flapped in the wind.

"Almost," Adrien said between breaths, "I hope she didn't-" Suddenly Adrien collided with another person. He hadn't even noticed anyone walking directly in front of him and they both fell backwards onto the pavement. He was only a few steps from the Repas Délicieux, only a few steps from meeting the love of his life.

"Adrien?" Marinette was on the ground in a pretty blue dress. Her right elbow was scraped and bleeding a little and she was rubbing her lower back in pain.

"Oh, Marinette, I'm so sorry, I was a little distracted, I didn't even see you." Adrien immediately stood up and ran towards her, offering her his hand.

"No, it's ok, uh," she assured, "Please- uh- don't worry about it." She grabbed his hand and he hoisted her upwards. "Thanks."

"I'm sorry, you're hurt," he held her hand a little longer, "Let me go get you a bandaid or something-"

"Uh- I- it's fine," Marinette laughed nervously, "It's just a scrape, nothing I can't handle." Her elbow was twitched, but she didn't admit that. He was quite jittery, she noticed. "What's up?"

"Not much," he said quickly. Adrien realized now that he was too late. Ladybug was probably long gone. "Just hungry for a Repas Délicieux burger."

"Do you like that restaurant?" Marinette asked excitedly.

"It's my favorite," he said.

"Me too." Marinette smiled at him, "I was- I'm going to get take out, if you want to come with me- or- uh- maybe you were planning on sitting down? Sorry-"

"No, I'll come with you," Adrien said. Marinette nodded and her cheeks burned red. She wasn't even mad about Chat ditching her for the moment. She was hanging out with Adrien alone! What could be better? "I'm not doing anything tonight," he said almost subconsciously, "Do you want to come over or something? I just got a new video game, maybe you could try it, I mean if you want to."

"I'd love to." She grinned. After being ditched by her partner, Marinette wanted to do something to help her forget about it.

"Great!" Adrien felt himself relax. He had let Ladybug down, but he owed Marinette something for getting him out of that photoshoot and honestly he wanted to hang out with her.

The two walked into the restaurant together, already bickering about who would win Adrien's new video game and easily forgetting about discovering their partner's secret identity.


	2. Chapter 2

Adrien had walked Marinette home at 11:30 that night. Her parents had blown up her phone with worries. It was quite late for her to be out a school night, but Marinette, and Adrien too, had barely noticed the time pass. They were genuinely enjoying each other's presence and when it came time for Marinette to leave they both admittedly wanted to spend more time together.

"Thanks for having me over tonight." Marinette said quickly "I was having kind of a bad night, but you made me forget about it, so... thanks." She looked down at her feet to avoid the awkward eye contact and silence she was sure would follow her comment.

"Well thanks for coming over," Adrien returned her statement with a warm smile. "We should do this again sometime."

"Yeah, I'd love-"

"Adrien!" Mr. Dupain swung the front door to the bakery open, "How're you doing son? Would you like to come in, have a pastry or something?" Marinette's face turned as red as her Ladybug costume.

"Hi Mr. Dupain," he smiled politely, "I probably need to start heading home soon actually-"

"Well take some for the road!" A box of pastries already prepared was thrown into Adrien's arms.

"Papa…" Marinette said quietly.

"Sorry, sorry," Mr. Dupain smiled awkwardly before slipping back inside and shutting the door rather forcefully.

"I'm sorry about him, I-" But Adrien had already pulled a croissant out of the box and taken a large bite out of it. Marinette smiled at him, he looked absolutely giddy. "Do you like croissants?"

"Luh 'em." His mouth was full, "Your dad is a _really_ good pastry chef, like the best I've had."

"I can bring you stuff from the bakery whenever you want," Marinette offered quickly, "My dad doesn't mind, we usually have a lot of extras by the end of the night that just end up getting donated or thrown away."

"I would love that," Adrien admitted. "My father doesn't allow food like this in the house, I have to keep up that 'model body' or whatever." He rolled his eyes and shoved the rest of the croissant into his mouth.

"Whenever you want," Marinette said, "Just let me know."

"Oh I will," he smiled and swallowed the last of the croissant, "Thanks Marinette, I had a great time tonight. Tell your dad I appreciated the box."

"I will." She nodded and reached to grasp the door handle. "I'll see you tomorrow, Adrien." She pushed the door open and took a step inside.

"Bye Marinette."

"Bye." After she shut the door behind her, Adrien stood on the front steps for a few moments debating whether or not he should ask her if she wanted to hang out again. That feeling didn't last long unfortunately because he remembered that he needed to meet up with Ladybug. How could he have forgotten about Ladybug?

What was unspoken but completely understood between them was that they wanted to do this again, desperately. But they both had plans they couldn't skip the second time around. Adrien and Marinette would have to wait. Chat and Ladybug were the first priority.

"Papa," Marinette stood in the bakery, her arms folded across her chest, "What was that all about?" Mr. Dupain stuck his head out from behind some cooling racks.

"We had some extras," he said quickly.

"Uh huh." Marinette rolled her eyes.

"I just like that boy," he said sheepishly, "Why don't you get detentions more often, Mari?"

"Papa!" She laughed.

"Just kidding," he smiled.

"Yeah, right," Marinette shook her head, "Well, Adrien liked the croissants, just so you know." She walked towards the stairs and grasped the railing.

"I knew he would," Mr. Dupain grinned. "Goodnight honey, I'll see you in the morning."

"Night."

Marinette called Alya as soon as she lay on her bed. Trust me, Marinette had already texted her and filled her in on the situation (obviously she left out the part about being Ladybug, but you get the point).

"Come on Alya…" Marinette bit her lip, "Come on…"

" _Hello?_ "

"Alya, you would not believe what just happened."

" _Tell me all about it girl-_ "

"He was _so_ charming and sweet and he invited me to his _own_ house, Alya, I was in his _room_ , _alone_ , with _him_."

" _I hear ya Marinette-_ "

"And we played video games and talked and I don't think I stammered _once_ , not a single time, Alya! And we were there for so long that my parents started to get worried, like it was 11:30, I was there until 11:30!"

" _That's great-_ "

"And we had to sneak out of his house because his dad is kinda crazy, but Adrien walked me all the way home and to the door and he told me he wants to do this again-"

" _Marinette this is great! But there's an akuma attack and I need to get some more film for the Ladyblog, I'll call you as soon as I'm done!_ "

"Okay! Call me!" Marinette hung up the phone and sighed. "Of course there's one right now."

"Come on, Marinette we need to go!" Tikki brushed against her face, "I know you don't want to talk to Chat, but you have to!"

"I know, I know," she sighed again and stood up, "Tikki, spots on!"

…

Ladybug and Chat Noir spoke briefly after a perilous fight against an old akumatized florist. They didn't have much time until they de-transformed, but were in desperate need of a serious conversation.

"Chat, you were _very_ late." Ladybug said softly, "I had gotten there early, too, expecting you right at 7:00 and you never came."

"I know, I'm sorry," he wrung his fingers, "I was nervous, I didn't know what to wear or what to say and I took too long getting ready. I lost track of time and I promise it'll never happen again." Ladybug looked at him intently, "I'll get there early! Can we please try again, give me one more chance. I promise I'll get there on time."

"Chat…"

"Look, we need this, okay? Master Wu told us we needed to get to know each other as best as we can-"

"And I know that," Ladybug responded. "But I just don't want it to be rushed or forced. We're a team and we need our relationship to stay that way." There was an awkward silence as Chat tried to figure out how to respond. He knew that they needed to stay in a good place, that's when they worked together best, obviously. But deep down he felt that they could grow even stronger if they knew who each other really were.

"I'm not going to force you," said Chat. "That's not how a partnership should work. You should want to know just as much as I do." He paused and looked at her blue bell eyes intently. "If you're still willing, tomorrow night I will arrive at the Repas Délicieux promptly at seven o'clock to meet you."

"Chat, I-"

"You don't have to come," he reassured her, " I know you're nervous, but I want to give you the option, okay? " Ladybug looked down at her feet and bit her lip. Chat wanted to grab her hand and give it a squeeze, but he resisted the urge and instead watched her think about his offer.

"Okay." Suddenly, her earrings started beeping. "I have to go, I'll see you later." She reached for her yo-yo on her waist.

"See you later," Chat sighed and turned to leave. He was sure he was going to be eating dinner alone the following evening.

"Wait," she grabbed his shoulder and pulled him down to her height, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks chaton."

"I- uh- you're welcome-" However, Ladybug was already gone, leaving Chat flustered and maybe a little more in love with her than before.

…

"This is what I think you should do," Plagg said while in between pieces of camembert, "Just de-transform right in front of her, then she'll have no choice!"

"Plagg, that's not the point, I want to give her the choice," Adrien said as he paced across the room.

"Come on Adrien, at this rate, you're never gonna find out who she is!"

"I'll find out eventually," he said more to himself than his kwami. "Master Wu said-"

"Master Wu says a lot of things," Plagg shoved another piece of camembert into his mouth, "Trust me I've known the guy for years."

"Whatever Plagg," Adrian sighed, "I'm going to do this my way." He yawned and looked at his clock. 3:14 AM. "I need to go bed."

"Yeah, yeah, get your beauty sleep princess," Plagg rolled his big green eyes, "I'll finish off this camembert for you."

"Thanks, you're such a great help." Adrien shook his head and grabbed his pajamas out of his closet. "Night Plagg."

"Goodnight Adrien."

…

Luckily Marinette was only two and a half minutes late for school, but she looked even more exhausted than usual. She slumped into her desk and put her head down, almost immediately she was snoozing.

"Marinette, wake up!" Alya whispered harshly. Ms. Bustier's lesson was a bit more boring than usual, but after the events of the previous morning, Marinette needed to be on her best behavior. "How late did you stay up last night?"

"Too late," she mumbled.

"What were you doing?"

"Sewing," she lied.

"Come on girl, you need to sleep."

"I'll sleep when I'm dead."

"Girls, please pay attention! Marinette, head up please!" Ms. Bustier looked at her quizzically. Her head slid up a little bit, only her eyes were visible over her arms.

"I'm sorry Ms. Bustier, I didn't get that much sleep last night."

"Well Marinette, I think it's time you went to bed at a proper hour…" Ms. Bustier continued talking, but Marinette was distracted by Adrien who turned around and mouthed _Sorry_ , to her. "Marinette?"

"Yes, sorry?"

"Please stay concentrated on your school work." She eyed her, but all Marinette could think about was Adrien.

…

"Marinette!" She and Alya stood in front of the school chatting about what little homework they had for the night after the final bell. They turned to see Adrien running down the steps, Nino not far behind him trying to catch his breath. "Marinette wait!"

"Oh!- uh- hey Adrien!" She laughed, scratching the back of her head, "What's up?"

"Hey, sorry," he ran right up her, "I'm sorry for getting you in trouble today, I really didn't mean to distract you and-"

"Don't worry about it!" She said immediately, "It was nothing, I stayed up way too late last night, even after you left, I was designing a new dress."  
"I thought you were sewing?" Alya inquired.

"Designing and sewing," Marinette said quickly, "It doesn't really matter, the point is I stayed up way too late and it was my fault I was so tired this morning. Don't think anything of it," she smiled up at him.

"Thanks Mari," he placed his hand on her shoulder. Marinette's face burned.

"Hey!" Alya tried to distract him from her blushing, "Would you guys want to go out or something tonight? We have like no home-"  
"I have plans!" Marinette and Adrien said at the same time, rather forcefully.

"Gotcha," Alya looked at her best friend and raised her eyebrows for merely a second, but Marinette could read the signal. _Are you and Adrien hanging out_ alone _again?_ "What about you Nino?"

"I'm-" he was still panting from chasing after Adrien, "I'm free."

"Okay, sounds good to me," Alya winked at him, "Let me know if your plans change, okay guys?" She turned to leave.

"I will Alya," Marinette nodded, "I promise, I'll text you later!"

"See ya Marinette! Bye Adrien," Alya linked arms with Nino.

"See you later dudes," Nino pointed finger guns at them before leaving with his girlfriend.

"Bye!" Marinette smiled and waved.

"See you tomorrow," Adrien waved as well and then turned to the blue-bell eyed girl next to him, "Well, I gotta go Marinette, if your plans change let me know." He thought of Ladybug briefly, but he still held onto the hope that she would show up.

"Yeah, uh- same," she grinned awkwardly, "I'll see you later."

"See ya!" Nathalie and the Gorilla pulled up and Adrien disappeared into the car.

"Bye Adrien," Marinette sighed and watched him drive away. "Oh Tikki, what am I supposed to do tonight?" The kwami stuck her head out of Marinette's bag and looked at the girl sadly.

"I think you need to face your fear, Marinette, Chat Noir is counting on you."

"I know," Marinette shut her eyes, "I know he is."


	3. Chapter 3

Adrien stood in front of a full length mirror. He was wearing black blazer with suit pants to match and a white button down shirt. He had picked out a bright green bowtie, that both made his eyes pop and matched his Chat Noir costume. Deep down, he hoped Ladybug would recognize the gesture, but he wasn't even sure if she was going to show up. He debated texting Marinette, to ask her if her plans had somehow miraculously been canceled, but he stopped himself. If Ladybug did show up, he couldn't hurt her again.

"You look _dashing_ , Adrien," Plagg said in a sarcastic tone (but he meant it).

"Thanks Plagg," he tightened his bowtie and smiled briefly, "Do you think I should get flowers? Or would that be too much?"

"Who cares?" He whined, "I just want camembert and that restaurant doesn't even have it. Couldn't you have gone somewhere with camembert Adrien?"

"Nope, sorry," Adrien sighed and grabbed his wallet, "Let's go get some flowers, I'm thinking red roses because her costume is red, but I don't want them to be too romantic."

"Who _cares_ Adrien?"

"I do, now let's go," he opened his jacket and Plagg whirled inside. It was 6:15, Adrien was definitely way ahead of time.

...

At 6:45, Adrien was standing off to the side of the entrance of the Repas Délicieux cradling a bouquet of red roses in his arms. Every minute or so, he'd glance nervously at his watch, praying to God that Ladybug would decide to show up. Minute after minute passed and he didn't see any sign of her.

"Adrien, it's almost seven and I don't see anyone who looks like Ladybug." Plagg stuck his head out of Adrien's jacket.

"She'll come, I know she will-"

"Adrien Agreste!" His attention was directed towards a group of young girls from across the street spotted him with a bouquet of red roses and dressed in a nice suit. How could anyone resist? "Look it's Adrien Agreste!"

"I- uh," suddenly the girls ran through moving traffic and bombarded him with questions and hugs. This was catching the attention of many people, soon others recognized the famous model as well. He felt the roses tear from his hands and someone pull the bowtie from his neck.

"Hey! Those weren't for you!" Adrien tried to keep his composure, but more and more people surrounded him by the second and he grew increasingly frustrated.

"Adrien?" A familiar voice that seemed miles away from him broke through the crowd. He stood on his toes and looked around the restaurant. There Marinette stood in a floral printed dress and wedges. Her typical coin purse was draped around her shoulder. "Is that you? Are you okay?"

"Marinette!" Quickly, he ducked and shot out between two of the girls. "Come with me," he grabbed her hand and started running down the street in the opposite direction.

"Okay sure-" They ran down the street, Adrien grasping her hand tightly. "Adrien- where- where are you going?" She heaved.

"We have to outrun those girls!" He shouted back to her. This was true, the horde of girls, as it turned out, had turned around and started to chase them down the sidewalk. Adrien turned left at the next block and then quickly ducked into an ice cream parlor. They hid behind a soda machine against the side wall and watched as the girls sprinted past through the windows, screaming and crying. Adrien spotted his green bowtie and the (now crushed) bouquet of roses in their arms and he sighed.

"That was quite interesting," Marinette laughed, "You okay? It looked like you were getting mauled in there or something."

"Yeah, I'm okay," Adrien smiled, but he was quite upset on the inside. He glanced at his watch and saw the time stamp 7:03. This was the second time he ditched Ladybug.

"Are you sure?" Marinette noticed his sad disposition. She quickly looked up at the clock in the parlor, it was too late. Although she had arrived to her and Chat's second meeting she still hadn't seen him. Had he ditched her again? "Do you want to get some ice cream? I mean we're already here and I think the lady behind the counter would get pretty annoyed if we didn't order anything." She laughed a little and pulled his arm. They had never stopped holding hands.

"Sure," he smiled at her and they examined each flavor carefully. Marinette chose a chocolate ice cream with caramel swirls and Adrien decided on a classic, birthday cake. After their desserts were scooped into cups and set on the counter, the woman rang them up.

"That'll be seven dollars," she told them.

"Oh, no we're paying separately," Marinette said quickly.

"No, I've got you," Adrien had already reached into his wallet and pulled out the money.

"You don't have to pay for me!" She was quite surprised. There was no reason for him to pay for her in the slightest.

"Yeah I do," Adrien laughed, "You saved me from that mob of girls back there, I owe you."

"Adrien-"

"It's nothing," he smiled and handed the cashier his money. Marinette blushed and grabbed her ice cream off the counter. Alya would get a load out of this.

"Thanks," she said softly.

"Don't think anything of it." They walked out of the ice cream parlor and down the street, towards the park.

"So what even happened with those girls?" Marinette asked out of curiosity.

"I was…" he had to think of a lie, very quickly, "Well, I had just finished a photoshoot and was walking home when they saw me from across the street and attacked me."

"Attack is a pretty strong word," she laughed and took a bite of her ice cream. "Does that happen a lot?" Marinette inquired.

"Not too often," Adrien sighed, "But when it does happen it's inconvenience. It's a good thing they didn't damage my suit, my father would kill me if anything happened to my clothes… or my face I suppose." They were silent for a moment, they ate their ice cream and continued walking towards the park.

"Are you okay, Adrien?" Marinette asked, "You seem down."

"Yeah," he said softly, "I just… I don't know."

"What?"

"I keep screwing up and I don't mean too," he blurted, "Nothing works out the way it's supposed to and I'm just frustrated."

"You mean with your dad?" At that moment, Adrien wanted to tell Marinette everything. About how he was Chat Noir and that he was in love with Ladybug and how this secret was tearing him apart more and more everyday. He wanted _someone_ to understand what it was like, he wanted someone to know.

"Yeah," Adrien responded, "My dad."

"What's going on?"

"He- he just doesn't even want to get to know me." Adrien thought of Ladybug when he said this. "I just want to have a relationship with him and he doesn't even try. Nothing I do is ever good enough for him. And ever since my mom-" For whatever reason, Adrien felt like he could tell Marinette all these things, he felt that he could trust her with his life. "It's just so frustrating sometimes."

"I'm sorry Adrien," Marinette said. She touched his arm as they stepped into the park. The sky began to turn pink. "Have you tried talking to him about it?"

"No." Adrien sighed, "But you'd think he'd want to have a relationship with his son." _You'd think Ladybug would want to have a relationship with her partner,_ he thought.

"I'm sorry," they sat down on a bench in the park. Marinette thought briefly of Chat. Maybe she needed to understand him better.

"It's okay," he said finally. "I just wish things were different sometimes, you know?"

"Yeah," Marinette said, "I know." She thought about Chat again. Things between them would have to change. She would have to endure her fears for him.

"Thanks Marinette," Adrien smiled at her, "I feel like I can tell you anything." He put his hand on her shoulder.

"You're welcome," she blushed. Before she had a chance to say anything else, Alya called. "It's Alya, I should probably answer it."

"Yeah go ahead, her and Nino are probably on a date or something." They both laughed before Marinette hit the answer button.

"Hello?"  
" _Marinette! Nino just asked me to be his girlfriend!_ "

"What!" Marinette grabbed Adrien's hand, "That's awesome, Alya! I'm assuming you said yes… right? Please tell you me you-"  
" _Of course I did!_ " Alya screamed into the phone, " _Marinette, I can't even believe it!_ "

"What's going on?" Adrien whispered.

"I'm so happy for you Alya!" Marinette said into the phone. She covered the mouthpiece and leaned towards Adrien, "They made it official, _finally_."

"It's about time," he laughed and took another bite of his ice cream. Marinette put her phone back up against her ear. Alya was yelling loudly with excitement, so loudly, Adrien could almost make out the words.

" _Now it's time for you Marinette, we need to get you and-_ "

"Oh! I gotta go Alya, I'll call you back!" Marinette's face turned beet red and she fumbled hanging up the call.

" _Okay Marinette, call me later!_ " She hung up and stuck the phone between her legs.

"What was that about?" Adrien laughed.

"Oh nothing, we just have to talk about something later- like not right now- alone, you know?" Marinette laughed nervously and tucked some hair behind her ear. "It's no big deal." Adrien nodded and continued to eat his ice cream. Luckily for Marinette, he didn't think anything of the situation whatsoever.

"We'll have to double date with Nino and Alya sometime." Adrien said casually. Marinette's face burned again. Adrien wanted to double date with _her_.

"Yeah- we'll totally- we're totally going to do that." They didn't say anything for a few moments.

"Thank you Marinette," Adrien said suddenly.

"For what?"

"For being my friend." She reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Thanks for being mine." They sat there together holding hands as the sky turned black. Marinette was compelled to lay her head on his shoulder. The air was cool and they looked at what little stars populated the Paris night.

When Adrien walked her home that night they both knew two things. The first was that they found someone they could confide in, someone they could trust with anything and everything. The second was that they had learned to understand their partner's point of view. When they reached the front of the bakery, their hands parted for the first time since they had come together in the park. And Adrien, that lovestruck boy, almost kissed her.


End file.
